The Jade Hare

J A DRAGON MASTER'" Game Adventure

A

P
by John Nephew

The Jade Hare

A DUNGEONS & DRAGONS@Game Adventure

by John Nephew
Special Thanks to Darin Woody Eblom

Wherein the Intre id Adventurers Confront the Mad Warlock Abu-Ghabar and s Evil Minions to Recover a Priceless and Ancient i ! Jade Idol

Table of Contents
Players Background . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DMs Background . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Wandering Monsters . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1. Bat Cavern . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2,Storage Room . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3. Kitchen ..................... 4. Dining Hall . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5 . Goblin Barracks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6. Spring .............
2 2

7. Trap ........................ 4 8. Smallchamber . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6

3 3 4
4 4 4 4

9. Lieutenants Room . . . . . . . . . . . . 6 ................... 6 11. Abu-GhabarsChamber . . . . . . . 7 12. Secret Portal . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7 13. Treasure Room . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7 Conclusion ...................... 8
10. Laboratory

Credits
Design: John Nephew Editing: Karen S. Boomgarden Product Manager: Bruce Heard Cartography: John Knecht Typesetting: Gaye OKeefe Production: Sarah Feggested
I

This material is protected under the copyright laws of the United States of America. Any reproduction or unauthorized use of the material or artwork contained herein is prohibited without the express written permission of TSR, Inc. Random House and its affiliate companies have worldwide distribution rights in the book trade for English language products of TSR, Inc. Distributed to the book and hobby trade in the United Kingdom by TSR Ltd. Distributed to the toy and hobby trade by regional distributors. DUNGEONS &DRAGONS and D&D are registered trademarks owned by TSR, Inc. DUNGEON MASTER and the TSR logo are trademarks owned by TSR, Inc. Copyright 1992 TSR, Inc. All Rights Reserved. Printed in U3.A

1ntr2obuction
Thelade Hare is a DUNGEONS & DRAGONS@game adventure, designed for a party of 4-6 first level characters. As usual, a variety of character classes will be most useful. Because the adventures short, you and your players should be able to finish in just one session, even if you must generate player characters in the same evening. In order to play, all you need is a copy of the boxed DUNGEONS & DRAGONS game rules, dice, and some paper and pencils. If you intend to be a player in this adventure, please read no further. Youll be doing yourself a favor, since knowing information in advance about the dungeon will just ruin the suspense and thrills that help make role-playing such fun. Though he offered much gold, Abdullah of course refused the offer. When Abdullah described the stranger, other villagers recognized him as Abu-Ghabar, the mad warlock who lives in the hills, about ten miles away from Dar el-Tamyya. He is rumored to have built a dungeon there; it would make sense for him to have recruited goblin minions. Who knows what strange purposes the mad warlock has for the Jade Hare? In any case, the precious statuettes theft is an intolerable stain on the honor of the village and all the tribes therein. A party must be assembled to confront the warlock, and through force or guile recover the Jade Hare. This party may consist of none other than yourselves. The Qadi approaches you and implores you for assistance: Wont you save Dar el-Tamyyas ancient honor, and thwart whatever sinister plans the warlock has? The village is poor, but you may enrich yourselves with the treasures of the warlocks dungeon.

Players Background
Read or summarize the following adventure background for your players: Long ago the wisdom of the Prophet, Al-Kalim, came to the village of Dar el-Tamyya, and taught the folk to disregard their idols of old. But they kept one, to remember their ancient past and the wisdom of their ancestors. They also kept it because they believed it to be magical, blessed to protect the village from harm. Now the idol has been taken. Yesterday a small band of goblins raided Dar el-Tamyya, but strangely enough they killed no people and only took the Jade Hare. This has led Qadi Ibn Ali, the judge who is the recognized leader of Dar el-Tamyya, to conclude that the goblins were working for someone. Goblins themselves would have little interest in a small statuette-and would have left much more death and destruction unless someone told them not to. Abdullah, the old man who cared for the statuette (and whose memory has been vanishing over the years, like water in the desert sun), remembered that about a month ago a stranger had asked if he might purchase the Jade Hare.

DUNGEON MASTER Background

The warlock stole the Jade Hare for research. He has long heard of its reputed (but unproven) powers, which he hopes to discover and turn to his own advantage. He also suspects (rightly) that the idol is even older than the villagers realize. It goes back many centuries, to an ancient, forgotten empire that once ruled this land. So far the warlock and his goblin underlings have concentrated on robbing caravans, but Abu-Ghabar has greater ambitions. He hopes the Jade Hare will help him achieve them. This information does not need to have a direct bearing on the adventure. The PCs might never realize the warlocks intentions; it is enough for them to want to recover the Jade Hare. As the Dungeon Master, however, you may keep track of these secret plots and facts, and use them to weave the story of your campaign behind the characters exploits.

---- --

dungeon of t h e mad warlock

In Dar el-Tamyyayou find a traveling trader namea rusir Ion Ahmad. He claims to have delivered his wares to the warlock several times, dropping them off at a great cave mouth in the hills. With directions in hand, you set off, and soon are at the entrance to the Dungeon of the Mad Warlock! Any time you find boxed text in this mini-adventure, such as the above passage, it indicates that you may read the text inside directly to your players to describe an event or encounter. Some DMs prefer to paraphrase, or provide details as they see fit or as the players inquire. Non-boxed text is for your (the DMs) view alone. Usually its content will be revealed to players gradually, as their characters explore and perform various actions (e.g., players cant know whats in a chest until their characters open it). The adventure begins at the entrance to the dungeon. The dungeon of Abu-Ghabar can be divided into two parts: First are the natural caves, which attracted Abu-Ghabar to this location. Second are the caves the warlock has sculpted himself (with hired goblin labor, actually) for his living and working space. Weve provided a list of wandering monsters, plus a detailed key to the numbered encounters shown on the dungeon map. For the sake of variety, you might want to re-roll encounters that the characters have already had.

Dungeon Encounter Key

Guard Posts: At each of these three strategic locations, on the map Balgoruk, Abu-Ghabars bugbear lieutenant, has posted a goblin guard to raise the alarm if intruders are detected. Discipline is lax among these chaotic creatures, so there is a 40% chance that a guard will be asleep when PCs arrive at his post. Of course, a guard will be awakened if the adventurers make a great deal of noise. Goblin Guards (1 per post): AC 6; HD 1-1; hp 4 each; MV 90 (30); #At 1; THACO 19; Dmg Id6 (short swords) or ld4 (slings); Save NM; ML 7; AL C; XP Value 5 each. Each goblin carries a pouch of personal belongings: some bitter roots to chew, a few teeth and such mementos, plus 2d8 copper pieces and ldlO silver pieces.

1. Bat Cavern
A thick layer of guano gives evidence of this caverns residents: bats. As you walk in, several fly by, threatening to extinguish torches with their flapping wings, but soon they settle again. After your eyes have adjusted to the darkness, you see that there are three passages leaving this cave. One goes north, another northwest, and a third west. During daylight hours the bats are found hanging asleep from the ceiling. Commotion will stir them, however. Therefore, to liven up this first encounter, you may decide that a wandering monster happens upon this cavern at the same time as the player characters. A conflict will bring down the bats, fluttering around, causing confusion, and in general making the battle more interesting. If someone is determined to search through the thick layer of guano on the floor for treasure, they have a 5 % chance per turn of searching of being rewarded with the small piece of amber (50 gp value) that Abu-Ghabar once lost here. Bats (47): AC 6; HD 114; hp 1 each; MV 9 (3), fly 120 (40); #At: 1; Dmg Nil (causes confusion: a confused character suffers - 2 on Hit rolls, Saving Throws, and cannot cast spells); Save NM; ML 6 ; AL N; XP Value S each.

Wandering Monsters
If you would like to liven up the characters lives as they explore the Warlocks dungeon, you may throw some wandering monsters their way. Following is a list of monsters appropriate to this dungeon. As explained in the D&D@ game rules, roll Id6 at the end of every other turn. A result of 1means a wandering monster has encountered the PCs. To determine which monster it is, roll Id6 and consult the following table. 1. Fire Beetle (No. Encountered: Id6) AC 4; HD 1+2; hp 7 each; MV 120 (40); #At 1; THACO 18; Dmg 2d4; Save F1; ML 7; AL N; XP value: 15 each. 2 . Giant Centipede (No. Encountered: 2d4) AC 9; HD l/2; hp 3 each; MV 60 (20); #At 1; THACO 19; Dmg Poison; Save NM; ML 7; AL N; XP Value: 6 each. 3. Giant Crab Spider (No. encountered: ld4) AC 7; HD 2*; hp 9 each; MV 120 (40);#At 1; THACO 18; Dmg Id8 + poison (save vs. Poison at + 2 or die in ld4 turns); Save F1; ML 7; AL N; XP Value 25. 4. Giant Rat (No. Encountered: 2d4) AC 7; HD l/2; hp 3 each; MV 120 (40), swim 60 (20); #At 1; THACO 19; Dmg Id3 + disease ( 5 % chance); SaveNM; ML 8; ALN; XPValue 5. 5 . Ghoul (No. Encountered: Id3) AC 6; HD 2*; hp 9 each; MV 90 (30); #At 3; THACO 18; Dmg ld3/ld3/ld3 + paralysis; Save F2; ML 9; AL C; XP Value: 25 each. 6. Goblin (No. Encountered: ld6) AC 6; HD 1-1; hp 4 each; MV 90 (30); #At 1; THACO 19; Dmg ld4 (clubs); Save NM; ML 7; AL C; XP Value 5 each.

buncjeon of the mab WaRlOCk

2. Storage Room
This rectangular room is thirty feet from north to south, and twenty from east to west. From the plethora of goods, from weapons to provisions, you judge this to be a storage room. Many items are broken and useless, but the goblins are too lazy to haul the garbage outside. Other things are in fine shape, such as the three barrels of salted meat (which didnt fit in the kitchen). Surplus weapons and armor may be of interest to the PCs, including: a short sword; a small box containing about four dozen round, smooth slingstones; two shields, each decorated with crude, gory paintings of the sort goblin warriors appreciate; four clubs; and a wooden crate filled with 100 crossbow bolts. No crossbow is to be found, however; these bolts, along with all the short swords found in the dungeon, were stolen from an elvish trader the goblins waylaid.

No one will be in this room when the PCs arrive. Noise here will surely be perceived by the cook and assistant in adjacent encounter 3, however.

5. Goblin Barracks
This is a large room, square, forty feet on each side. It seems to be a barracks, since there are fourteen bunks here. Here and there you notice small chests at the feet of the beds, but you are distracted by the eight attacking goblins! The goblin minions of Abu-Ghabar share this room as sleeping quarters. Eight of the goblins are presently here; the others are scattered throughout the dungeon. There are a total of fourteen beds. The bunks are paired, atop each other. At the foot of each are two footlockers for the possessions of the goblins who sleep there. Each of these containers has a lock, and a 75 % chance of being locked. None have traps and, since their construction is not particularly sturdy, a few blows of a heavy weapon (such as a mace) could shatter one. The problem is that violently opening a footlocker may attract a wandering monster (1 in 6 chance-check for each footlocker the PCs bust open), and will break any fragile contents. Each chest contains a number of personal items (e.g., mementos like bones and teeth, dirty clothes, an extra spearhead, some dried provisions, a skin of warm, foul beer), plus loose coins: 3d4 cp, ld8 - 1 sp, and ld4 - 1 ep. One chest also contains a delicate porcelain statuette of a camel, worth 80 gp; it will be destroyed if the footlocker is broken open. Another contains a potion ofinvisibilityin a glass vial. Again, this is fragile, and violent treatment of the footlocker will shatter the vial and spill the potion. Goblins (8): AC 6; HD 1-1; hp 4 each; MV 90 (30); #At 1; THACO 19; Dmg Id6 (spears); Save NM; ML 7; AL C; XP Value 5 each.

3. Kitchen
This is a kitchen. Two humanoids are here. The smaller one looks to be a goblin, but the other, although he has similar features, is considerably taller and more burly. They look comical in the attire of cooks, as they tend to a large pot of something tasty-smelling.

A hobgoblin cook and his goblin assistant are found here, preparing a special dish of rabbit stew for Abu-Ghabar, to celebrate the successful theft of the Jade Hare. If attacked, the goblins will defend themselves with large cutlery-the equivalent of daggers in combat terms. Each carries a belt pouch. The hobgoblins contains 11 sp and a charm woven of dried herbs (it smells terrible and has no real value). The goblins pouch contains 3 ep, a peach pit, a lizards tail, and a piece of wood that he whittles in his spare time.
Hobgoblin cook (1): AC 6; HD 1+ 1; hp 6; MV 90 (30); #At 1; THACO 18; Dmg ld4; Save F1; ML 8; AL C; XP Value 15. Goblin assistant (1): AC 6; HD 1-1; hp 4 each; MV 90 (30); #At 1; THACO 19; Dmg ld4; Save NM; ML 7; AL C ; XP Value 5.

6. Spring
A natural spring, the source of the stream that flows from these caves, wells up in this large, natural cavern. Beside the spring are a wooden bucket and a copper ladle. The water has no magical properties, but is cool, clean, and refreshing. The dungeon inhabitants come here to draw water or to drink.

4. Dining Hall
Three tables fill the length of this room. Each is roughly hewn of wood from the mountains. A long swath of cloth hanging on the wall opposite the eastern exit has bright red writing on it. The writing is in Goblin. It says, Serve Abu-Ghabar well, and you will be rewarded.
4

7. Trap
We dont have a boxed description here, because your reading it would warn the players that something is about to happen to their characters! This section of passageway is sandy, concealing a trap laid by

Jade Hare Dungeon

Stream

Door

Secret Door

Scale: 1 square = 5

Dunqeon of the maa WaRlOCk

the warlock. It is a spring-loaded mechanism that drives a spike upward from the sand. Each character that passes this area (unless taking special precautions) has a 1 in 4 chance of triggering the trap. The spike springs up into the charactersfoot, attacking as a 3 Hit Dice monster (THACO 17). The PCs armor class versus this attack will depend on what sort of armor is on the foote.g., leather boots would be AC 7, whereas full plate armor including the feet would be AC 3. The character can include his dexterity bonus to armor class, but not a shield. If the spike strikes the character, he or she suffers ld4 hit points of damage. In addition, the character can move only at half speed, and suffers - 2 to armor class in combat (because of difficulty in moving and dodging blows), until the wound is healed. The warlock and his minions know about this trap, so they are careful to walk close to the walls in this sandy section of the passage. Characters who closely examine the sandy floor with a good light source notice that there are no footprints in the middle of the passage.

8. Small Chamber
~

The passage to this natural chamber has a slight incline. Here the air is particularly dry, unlike the caverns between the spring and the bats cavern. On the wall and floor you see two great patches of ugly, yellow mold. The patch on the floor is particularly lumpy, perhaps covering something. Two yellow molds are found here. If the molds are destroyed, PCs find that the second mold in fact covers the dead body of a goblin. The goblin clutches a silver medallion, set with a small amethyst gem, to its chest. The medallion is worth 150 gp. Yellow Mold (2): AC can always be hit; HD 2*; hp 9 each; #At 1; THACO n/a; Dmg Id6 + save vs. Death Ray or choke to death within six rounds; Save F2; ML n/a; AL N; XP Value 25.

with goblinoids! A battle axe f 1 is Balgoruks favorite weapon. He wields it one-handed (easy because of his size and strength), and carries a round shield in his other hand. The shield has a large skull painted on it in blood. A small spike is in the middle of the shield; from it hang the scalps of three of the mightiest foes Balgoruk has vanquished. Around Balgoruks neck is a bone necklace, worth 15 gp. He also wears a large earring of silver, sculpted in the shape of a dragon swallowing a jewel (a small pearl). The earringsvalue is 140 gp. Balgoruk possesses no other valuables; he prefers to squander his booty and earnings as soon as they are acquired, on extravagant food and vast quantities of drink. In battle Balgoruk is fearsome. He likes to howl loudly, to unnerve opponents (you may wish to act out one of these noises, to see your players reactions!). Although chaotic, he has a warriors honor-loathe to surrender, retreat, or even call for assistance. At the same time, he is practical enough to realize that his death will be pointless if he doesnt somehow contribute to the invaders defeat. Therefore, if he suffers 10 hit points damage or more, he will make a strategic withdrawal out of whichever door the characters didnt come throngh. If the characters came from Abu-Ghabars room (the northwestern door), he takes the other door and hopes to muster assistance from goblins remaining in the dungeon. If the characters come from the northeastern door, Balgoruk flees toward Abu-Ghabars room, hoping to warn his master of the impending threat. Balgoruk, Abu-Ghabars bugbear lieutenant: AC 5 ; HD 3 + 1; hp 15; #At 1; THACO 15; Dmg ld8+2 (wields a battle axe + 1); Save F3; ML 9; AL C; XP Value 75.

10.Laboratory

shelf you see four vials filled with liquid, each marked with a

9. Lieutenants Room
This chamber, twenty feet wide by thirty feet long, is a private room. Its inhabitant must be the mighty, axe-wielding, humanoid monster before you! It looks similar to a goblin, but is much larger and hairy. Besides his axe, the creature carries a shield from which scalps hang, wears a bone necklace, and sports an earring. Abu-Ghabars right-hand man is a bugbear, named Balgoruk. This room is Balgoruks private chamber; the bugbear will be here when player characters arrive. Balgoruks main duties are maintaining discipline among the goblins and leading them on raids. Abu-Ghabar prefers not to be seen on raids because it makes it difficult for him to deal with humans at other times. Few people like a mage who consorts Abu-Ghabar has outfitted this room for his alchemical pursuits. Unfortunately, the warlock is still a novice in the field, and has not yet succeeded in producing any useful potions. Some of the failed experiments are interesting, however. They are the four vials on the shelf. Potion #1: When the drinker attempts to speak, he makes honking noises like a goose. The effect lasts Id6 turns. AbuGhabar was just experimenting with this one, not attempting to produce any particular potion. Potion #2: This attempt at a porion ofhealing failed miserably. The noxious fluid causes nausea and dizziness (maximum movement half normal, and - 2 on hit rolls) for ld4 hours. Potion #3: Turns the drinkers nose a deep violet over the course of five minutes. The color fades much more slowly, over the course of about six hours. It was meant to be a porion of

buncjeon OF the rnab WaRlOCk

in visibility Potion #4:A failed potion oflevitation, it has incomplete effects: The drinker is lifted an inch off the ground. This height is maintained whether desired or not. The effect is annoying: the drinker cant walk, because his feet dont touch the ground. This also makes combat difficult. The character will have to pull himself along walls and objects with his hands, or be pulled along by fellow adventurers. The effect lasts 3d4 turns. Abu-Ghabar has used this room for studying the Jade Hare, but when he is not examining it he keeps it in his treasure room (encounter 13) for safekeeping.

with him (in particular, his spell book!) from his treasure room (encounter 13), so the player characters may yet get another shot at him.

12. Secret Portal

Past the secret door in Abu-Ghabars chamber is a tunnel that goes north forty feet, and then west about 120 yards (off the map) to a hillside exit. The mouth of this tunnel is hidden by shrubs. If things are going very badly and the Warlock cannot rally the defense of his dungeon, he will escape via this route.

11. Abu-Ghabars Chamber

Having seeing how goblins live, it is clear to you that this room could only be a human home: no doubt the warlocks own. It is comfortably furnished, with a large bed, a dresser filled with clothes (some spill out sloppily), and a table for writing. In front of you is the warlock himself, wasting no time before casting a spell! Abu-Ghabar keeps all of his valuables in the treasure room (encounter 13), the door to which is locked. Abu-Ghabar, the Mad Warlock (Magic-user level 4): AC 9; MU 4; hp 10; #At 1; THACO 18; Dmg ld4 + 1; Save MU4; ML 9; AL C; S 10; I 17; W 9; D 12; C 10; Ch 7; XP Value 175). Abu-Ghabar has the following spells memorized: Level Ichatm person, shield Level 11-mirror image, web. Magical items: The Mad Warlock owns three magical items: a dagger i 1, a potion of healing, and a magic-user spell scroll with four spells: magic missile, invisibility ( x 2), and hold person. Tactics: Before combat, Abu-Ghabar will cast his shield spell upon himself. This gives him an armor class of 2 against missiles, and an armor class of 4 against all other attacks. It also protects him from magic missiles: If he successfully saves versus Spells, a magic missile cast at him will have no effect. If he has time, the Warlock might also cast his mirror image spell before melee begins. In combat, Abu-Ghabar will use his spells and magical items (especially the scroll) to maximum effect. When his offensive spells (web, magic missile, and charm person, in that order) have been exhausted, he will turn to his dagger and close for hand-to-hand combat. If wounded to under 5 hit points, the Warlock will cast the invisibility spell on himself from the scroll and flee-only to recuperate with his healing potion and then attempt to ambush the PCs (with the help of his minions, if possible) before they escape his dungeon. If Abu-Ghabars effort fails again, he will attempt to use the second invisibilityspell, but this time to flee (see the Secret Portal, below). He will, naturally, attempt to bring whatever he can 7

13. Treasure Room

Remember, the door to this room is locked.
~~

Treasure! Here is the cache of the Mad Warlock. Things are scattered about sloppily, on the floor, in bags, and in the two heavy wooden chests that sit open against the western wall. Your eyes light up with the sight of much silver and goid. Stacked along the eastern wall are four rolled-up rugs. Perched over the inside of the doorway is a gargoyle, ready to attack anyone but Abu-Ghabar who enters. Gargoyle* (1): AC 6; HD 3**; hp 14; MV 90 (30), fly 150 (50); #At 4; THACO 17; Dmg ld2/ld2/ld4/ld3; XP Value 65. This is a young specimen, captured and trained by AbuGhabar; hence it has fewer hit dice, damage, and so forth than gargoyles as described in the D&D@Game rules. Note that a gargoyle can only be harmed by magic or magical weapons. Trusting in the ability of his gargoyle to protect the rooms contents, Abu-Ghabar has made no further effort to guard or conceal them. Things are scattered about sloppily. The four Persian-style rugs (each worth 100 gp) are booty from a recent caravan raid. The loose coins scattered around the room total 3,868 cp, 2,015 sp, 212 ep, 91 gp, and 12 pp. Deep in one of the chests is Abu-Ghabars spell book. It contains these spells: Level I-charm person, detect magic, magic missile, read magic, shield; Level 11-invisibility, mirror image, web. The other (southern) chest contains the Jade Hare. This precious idol is wrapped in a sheet of silk (which is itself worth 25 gp).

bunqeon o the ma6 M R l O C k r

The Jade Hare

The simple beauty of this figurine, a desert hare sculpted of jade, belies its age and the immense value the villagers of Dar el-Tamyya accord it. It is a relic of the ancient empire which flourished in these parts more than a thousand years ago, when the land was lush and verdant. The empire grew corrupt and evil, and was destroyed; but traces of its presencesuch as the Jade Hare-remain to intrigue the hardy folk who inherited the desert. Basically, the Jade Hare is just a normal, though extremely elegant, carving. (It does radiate magic if a detect magic spell is cast upon it, but no one knows if theres anything more to it than that aura.) If it has special powers (as the villagers of Dar el-Tmyya believe), they are well hidden-to AbuGhabars frustration. As an art object, the Jade Hare is worth 500 gp. Collectors with a special interest in ancient artifacts might be induced to pay up to twice as much.

Conclusron
The villagers of Dar el-Tamyya will be delighted if the PCs return with success; as the Jade Hare is triumphantly presented to old Abdullah, Qadi Ibn Ali declares it a day of celebration for all, and opens his own stores of exotic delicacies for a feast in the characters honor. Depending on how the dungeon assault went, some threads may remain loose-especially if Abu-Ghabar escaped. The warlock has lost interest in the Jade Hare, but surely feels hatred for the meddlers who destroyed his pleasant lifestyle of raiding and research. He may harry them in the course of their future endeavors, looking to make alliances with other foes of the PCs since he knows he cannot defeat them alone.

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